Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio's fall from grace has been a public spectacle, a career-destroying train wreck seemingly played out in slow motion.

But her ascent to a judgeship was just the opposite: Completely out of the public eye, Astacio, who'd been a single teenage mother from a broken home, put herself through law school and won an upset City Court victory in 2014.

Now, fairly or not, much of the public has formed its own image of Astacio, just as she battles to keep her judgeship. But, while the public image may sometimes border on caricature, the real Astacio is a far more complex figure — her character likely carved out in the crucible of her difficult young life.

"If you look at all of her story, it's one of the most amazing rises you'll ever see," said local defense lawyer Paul Guerrieri, an Astacio friend who was a colleague when they both were prosecutors in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.

Astacio, of Puerto Rican and African-American descent, was the first Hispanic woman elected to Rochester City Court. That was a moment of celebration for many — the story of a young woman of color overcoming a childhood that would have derailed many lives.

But what the public has witnessed since Astacio's February 2016 drunken driving arrest is not that celebratory story.

Instead, the spectacle has been nearly Shakespearean, with a complicated character at its epicenter — sometimes contrite, sometimes confrontational, sometimes unintentionally comical. She used her Facebook page as a defense, but the social media stream occasionally tumbled into the realm of the bizarre. She once posted photos of her visits with monks in Thailand at the same time she was on court-ordered monitoring in Monroe County.

The Commission on Judicial Conduct, a state watchdog agency, voted earlier this month to remove Astacio from the judgeship because of the 2016 drunken driving conviction, subsequent violations of her post-conviction mandates (she continued to drink when prohibited from doing so), and other ethical lapses, including her failure to return from the Thailand trip in time for a court-ordered blood-alcohol content test.

Astacio has until May 24 to ask the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, to review the commission decision and affirm or reverse it.

"I would like to believe that none of the mistakes that I have made are irreconcilable because there are two things that I have done in my lifetime that I am proud of, my kids and this election," Astacio, a mother of two, told the Commission on Judicial Conduct at an April 12 hearing. "And that's it. And I have a community and a group of people that believe in me and the idea that I have let them down is unfathomable to me."

Judge Leticia Astacio and her sister laugh at something said in the conversation she was having with one of her attorneys, Neil Gunther. There was a delay in court proceedings due to misunderstanding of the time of AstacioÕs arraingnment by an attorney representing the Monroe County District AttorneyÕs Office. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Judge William Kocher looks at the signed grand jury report that the attorneys thought at first wasn't signed. The report came later than their initial copies. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Judge William Kocher listens as attorneys Barry Porsch, Mark Foti and Neil Gunther, talk about allowing Foti to review the grand jury minutes. Porsch, who is acting prosecutor for the Monroe County District AttorneyÕs Office, is going to allow Foti and Gunther to review them. Porsch is the district attorney for Seneca County. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Judge Leticia Astacio listens as her attorney Mark Foti talks to her quietly about being allowed to review grand jury minutes. Astacio can not be present during the review. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Mark Foti, attorney for Judge Leticia Astacio, receives a document from Seneca County District Attorney Barry Porsch, who is acting as a prosecutor for the Monroe County District Attorney’s office. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio argues with the judge as she is taken back into custody, and to jail without bail, during a probation violation hearing Thursday. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio argues with the judge as she is taken back into custody, and to jail without bail, during a probation violation hearing Thursday, Nov. 9. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio argues with the judge as she is taken back into custody, and to jail without bail, during a probation violation hearing Thursday. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio argues with the judge as she is taken back into custody, and to jail without bail, during a probation violation hearing Thursday. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio checks her phone at the moment Judge Stephen Aronson orders her taken into custody and held without bail during a probation violation hearing. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio is released from jail following a hearing at the the Hall of Justice in downtown Rochester Friday, Nov. 3, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio is released from jail following a hearing at the the Hall of Justice in downtown Rochester Friday, Nov. 3, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, seated with her lawyer, Gregory Salmon, reacts as Ontario County Judge Stephen Aronson orders her held without bail, during a hearing on breaking her probation Monday at the Hall of Justice in Rochester. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, her lawyer Gregory Salmon at left, is taken into custody and held without bail, during a hearing on breaking her probation Monday at the Hall of Justice in Rochester. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, her lawyer Gregory Salmon at right, is taken into custody and held without bail, during a hearing on breaking her probation. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, left, listens as her lawyer Gregory Salmon argues for release after being ordered to be held without bail, during a hearing on breaking her probation. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Judge Stephen Aronson orders Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio be taken into custody and held without bail, during a hearing on breaking her probation. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/staff pho

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio collapses into her chair as she reacts to her daughter's outburst Thursday at Judge Stephen Aronson after Astacio received a 60-day sentence for violating the terms of her 2016 drunk driving conviction. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio stands Thursday and cries out at her daughter's outburst at Judge Stephen Aronson after Astacio received a 60-day sentence for violating the terms of her 2016 drunk driving conviction. At right is her defense attorney Bridget Field. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio stands Thursday and cries out after her daughter's outburst at Judge Stephen Aronson after Astacio received a 60-day sentence for violating the terms of her 2016 drunk driving conviction. At right is her defense attorney Bridget Field. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio is taken from court after her receiving a 60-day sentence for violating the terms of her 2016 drunk driving conviction Thursday, July 6, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio is taken from court after her receiving a 60-day sentence for violating the terms of her 2016 drunk driving conviction Thursday, July 6, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio reacts to her daughter's outburst Thursday at Judge Stephen Aronson after Astacio received a 60-day sentence for violating the terms of her 2016 drunk driving conviction. At right is her defense attorney Bridget Field. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio cries out as shereacts to her daughter's outburst Thursday at Judge Stephen Aronson after Astacio received a 60-day sentence for violating the terms of her 2016 drunk driving conviction. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, center, talks with her attorney, Edward Fiandach, during her hearing at the Hall of Justice in Rochester Thursday, June 8, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, left, with her attorney, Edward Fiandach, listen as Judge Stephen Aronson finds her guilty of breaking the conditions of her DWI sentence during her hearing at the Hall of Justice in Rochester Thursday, June 8, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, seated center, with her attorney, Edward Fiandach, seated right, calls out to her supporters in the gallery who were yelling "Racist!" after she was found guilty of breaking the conditions of her DWI sentence during her hearing at the Hall of Justice in Rochester Thursday, June 8, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, seated center, with her attorney, Edward Fiandach, seated right, calls out to her supporters in the gallery who were yelling "Racist!" after she was found guilty of breaking the conditions of her DWI sentence during her hearing at the Hall of Justice in Rochester Thursday, June 8, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, center, with her attorney, Edward Fiandach, seated right, calls out to her supporters in the gallery who were yelling "Racist!" after she was found guilty of breaking the conditions of her DWI sentence during her hearing at the Hall of Justice in Rochester Thursday, June 8, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, seated center, with her attorney, Edward Fiandach, seated right, listen as she is found guilty of breaking the conditions of her DWI sentence during her hearing at the Hall of Justice in Rochester Thursday, June 8, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, center, is taken back to jail after she was found guilty of breaking the conditions of her DWI sentence during her hearing at the Hall of Justice in Rochester Thursday, June 8, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, seated right, listens as her attorney, Edward Fiandach, right, argues for her release from jail during her hearing at the Hall of Justice in Rochester Thursday, June 8, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Judge William Kocher holds up a court document and tells them that the court matter should proceed as a procedure on whether she was being held lawfully and not as a bail hearing. TINA MACINTYRE-YEE/ @tyee23/staff photographer

Judge Leticia Astacio and her attorney, Edward Fiandach listen as the judge talks about events that were discussed and occurred overnight in regards to who Astacio’s case. TINA MACINTYRE-YEE/ @tyee23/staff photographer

Judge Leticia Astacio is held without bail on June 5, 2017, until her next court appearance. Astacio walks with deputies back to be taken to jail after her arraignment. TINA MACINTYRE-YEE, @tyee23/staff photographer

Judge Stephen Aronson addresses Judge Leticia Astacio about her missing her last court appearance and not turning herself in after a bench warrant was issued. TINA MACINTYRE-YEE/ @tyee23/staff photographer

Judge Leticia Astacio heads into the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to get processed after being arrested on a bench warrant. She was arraigned approximately an hour later. TINA MACINTYRE-YEE/ @tyee23/staff photographer

Leticia Astacio speaks with her attorney, Edward Fiandach, before her hearing where Judge Stephen Aronson ruled Monday that she did not violate her post-release conditions imposed after her drunken driving conviction last year. MAX SCHULTE, @maxrocphoto/staff phototgrpaher

Judge Leticia Astacio is surrounded by media as she leaves City Court after another appearance for violating her post-conviction conditions. She is scheduled back in court on March 3rd. Jamie Germano/@jgermano1/Staff Photographer

Judge Leticia Astacio and her daughter are pictured blowing into the interlock device at 11:50 a.m. and 11:34 a.m., respectively, on Jan. 12, 2017. A minute after Astacio blew into the device, at 11:51 a.m., the device recognized a problem and read, "Abort - Fuel Cell Offset." Photo provided

Judge Leticia Astacio is surrounded by media as she leaves City Court after another appearance for allegedly violating her post-conviction conditions. She is scheduled back in court on March 3. Jamie Germano/@jgermano1/Staff Photographer

Judge Leticia Astacio is surrounded by media as she leaves City Court after another appearance for allegedly violating her post-conviction conditions. She is scheduled back in court on March 3. Jamie Germano/@jgermano1/Staff Photographer

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia D. Astacio in August enters court with her attorney Ed Fiandach to find out the verdict in her bench trial in August. She was found guilty of driving while intoxicated. TINA MACINTYRE-YEE/@tyee23/File photo

Throughout her ordeal, Astacio has talked of her supporters and friends — many of them the same city residents who elected her in 2014.

Until Astacio recently removed her personal Facebook page, the comments on her postings illustrated a community divide over her case: Her supporters buoyed; her detractors belittled.

In some ways, her case has become a prism of an individual's perception of the justice system. There are those who think that she has been unjustly accused and unfairly punished, subject to public ridicule, because of race. Conversely, there are those who think she was treated with kid gloves, allowed to stay free and to continue to be paid, because she benefited from her position as a judge.

Has there been racism in some of the community belligerence toward Astacio? Most assuredly. Was the process itself propelled by racism, and not by her own poor decisions and ethical missteps? That's a much tougher argument to make.

"This is the result of what she did and the choices she made, and what this says to the public is this judge is unfit and you should have no confidence in her," John Postel, the lead Commission of Judicial Conduct prosecutor in the case against Astacio, told the full commission at a hearing this month. "The record is abundantly clear standing alone, that she should not be returned to the bench."

In the torrent of publicity since her 2016 drunken driving arrest, and the community schism over the treatment of Astacio, one fact has remained crystal clear: Should the Court of Appeals agree to remove her from the bench, this is not the end of the judicial career that anyone — especially Astacio — could have imagined.

Talking of the aftermath of her 2016 arrest and conviction, Astacio told the Commission on Judicial Conduct at the April hearing that "this joyous occasion that had just occurred where I was the youngest judge and the first Hispanic judge and everything I have been so proud of was destroyed."

Troubled upbringing

Judge Leticia Astacio reacts to her daughter's outburst in court after Astacio was sentenced to 60 days in jail.(Photo: SHAWN DOWD)

In court appearances, comments to the media, and posts to social media, Astacio has been outspoken and at times defiant. She showed she wasn't going to shy away from a fight, even as some observers suggested the best strategy would be to stay quiet and do as she was told.

That fierce independence that many say led her astray also helped to propel herself out of a horrible childhood, pull herself up by the bootstraps, and become a rising star in the local legal community.

Many of those who know her well declined to speak to the Democrat and Chronicle about Astacio. But during testimony before the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct last fall, both Leticia Astacio and her younger sister Felicia painted a troubling portrait of the home they grew up in.

Astacio told the commission she was hesitant to talk about her parent's past failures, but it's clear that those experiences made her who she is today.

Leticia Astacio was born at Highland Hospital in May 1981, the first child of a mother and father who were addicted to crack cocaine.

"My dad was a drug dealer, and eventually he started to use drugs, and I think that he introduced my mom to using drugs," she said in her testimony.

Her parents tried to hide their drug use from her, often leaving her at an aunt's house, or locked in a car while they spent the day in a crack house. It wasn't long before she was old enough to understand what was happening.

Astacio said the arguments between her parents often escalated to physical violence. She came to understand that these fights were because her parents had run out of drugs, and Astacio often had to step in to protect her mother.

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Judge Astacio speaks to the media after she was stripped of her judgeship.(Photo: MAX SCHULTE/@maxrocphoto/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

"Even though my mom would initiate those fights, my dad is big, and he's stronger than her, so I would always kind of take her side, and call the police, or intercede, or whatever," she said.

Astacio said that as a young girl, she didn't realize that everybody's parents weren't crackheads. For a first-grade assignment, she recounted the true story of how she broke her father's crack pipe in the hopes it would stop him from smoking. Her mom was horrified when she showed up for parent's night and saw the story on display.

She was 8 years old when her sister Felicia was born, and by then she said both of her parents had stopped smoking crack. But things at home didn’t get any better. Felicia testified that home life was often violent.

"My dad was very abusive, and he would hallucinate and see things," Felicia said.

Felicia Astacio said things got so bad in the house that her older sister often ran away and was eventually sent to live in foster care.

“I remember times where I would hide in my room crying because of the abuse that she endured, or seeing her bleeding from spankings, or beatings,”

"I remember times where I would hide in my room crying because of the abuse that she endured, or seeing her bleeding from spankings, or beatings," Felicia said.

Once her parents had stopped using crack, and with the flow of money from the drug trade gone, times only got harder, and Leticia Astacio bore the brunt of her parent's unhappiness. By the time she was 12 or 13, she says she was frequently kicked out of the house or simply ran away.

"So sometimes, you know, I [was] just kind of homeless. I would just go anywhere; I would stay with whoever would let me; I would go to friends' houses," she said. "And then, when I got caught, I would get sent to foster care, and then I didn't like foster care, so I would run away."

Astacio said this cycle continued until she was 15 years old, when her parents split and she went to live with her dad.

At the hearing Astacio admitted that she was uncomfortable talking about her parents, both of whom were able to escape the lifestyle that led to her difficult upbringing.

'She was very smart'

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Judge Leticia Astacio with her attorney Mark Foti were back in court before Judge Stephen Aronson at the Hall of Justice in Rochester on Friday, April 27, 2018.(Photo: SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

A city resident, Astacio was accepted into the Urban-Suburban school program and started first grade in the West Irondequoit school district. One of her classmates was Dave Seeley, who now serves as Irondequoit town supervisor.

While they were never very close friends, Seeley said she was someone who stood out in his memory.

"Leticia was tough, I remember that about her," Seeley said. "I always got along with her. She was the type of person who was nice but didn't put up with any nonsense, and she was very smart."

Both graduated from Irondequoit High School in the class of 1999. Astacio got pregnant during her junior year and gave birth to a daughter.

Becoming a mother at 17 seemed to be a turning point for Astacio, who says that afterward she started doing well in school, and knew she needed to aspire to more than her minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant.

She earned an associate's degree from Monroe Community College, then a bachelor's degree in English and communications from the University at Buffalo. She stayed at UB to earn a master's degree in social work and complete law school.

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Judge Leticia Astacio makes a court appearance with her then-attorneys Mark Young and Bridget Field last August.(Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ/@cfortiz_dandc/file photo)

Astacio gave birth to a son toward the end of law school, and spent her first year after graduation working for the Monroe County Legal Assistance Center.

She found a niche there, she told the Democrat and Chronicle in a 2014 interview, because she could relate to some of the clientele who were trying to keep themselves afloat.

"I was always interested in being in close proximity to people who are similar to me," she said.

After passing the bar exam, she joined the Monroe County District Attorney's Office. As a young prosecutor, she was assigned to town courts in Parma, Penfield and Irondequoit. After a stint in City Court, she began processing felony DWI cases.

"She was an incredibly talented lawyer and committed prosecutor," said Guerrieri, her friend and former colleague.

It was during this time that Astacio needed to have brain surgery. She described it as one of the most painful and horrible things that happened in her life.

“If you look at all of her story, it's one of the most amazing rises you'll ever see.”

Paul Guerrieri, an Astacio friend and former colleague in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.

"They cut open the back of my head and removed a portion of my skull, and then stapled my scalp back together to allow my spinal fluid to travel around my head and into my brain, " she said. "It started pooling, and I got meningitis, and it hurt really bad, and my husband wasn't working, and it just was very bad."

The after-effects of the surgery were painful. For a period of time, she had no function in her right arm, suffered from a cognitive impairment, and had difficulty with speech. Those problems eventually disappeared, but she said she still has "balance deficits" and a large scar on the back of her neck.

After returning to work, she was assigned to the DA's domestic violence bureau. She left in 2011 to enter private practice, where she focused primarily on criminal defense work.

In a 2012 interview with the Democrat and Chronicle, Astacio said that going out on her own was terrifying, but the right move for her.

"Fear can be horrific and crippling, or an amazing motivator," she said. Her first case as a defense attorney was to represent a man accused of raping a 13-year-old.

"Being scared of failure helps me prepare," she said. "It's not about getting over the fear at all — it's about learning to respect it so you can properly prepare to defeat it."

Becoming a judge

Seeley was working as a senior adviser to Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle when Astacio reached out to him in 2014 to say she was considering running for City Court judge. He hadn't kept in touch with her after they graduated from high school 15 years earlier.

"I was surprised in the sense that I didn't expect her to be a judicial candidate, but not surprised that she had made a successful career for herself," Seeley said.

Seeley told her that to win elections, you need intelligence, good instincts, and the ability to connect with people — all traits he thought she posessed.

In an interview with the Democrat and Chronicle that summer, Astacio said she decided to run because she wanted to be a role model for her daughter. "I wanted her to be clear that there was nothing she couldn't do in life," she said..

With little money and no strong political network, Astacio ran on the sheer power of her own will.

"She went door-to-door, and she met people, and she got people to register to vote, people who would normally not vote," her sister Felicia said during her commission testimony. "She met maybe, if you ask me, almost everyone in Rochester, and was at their door personally, and every day on the phone with me, telling me to go to their doors, too. She worked so hard."

In an election with a low turnout, Astacio defeated two opponents in a Democratic primary who were more experienced and better connected. She went on to win the general election.

Felicia says that the day her sister took the oath of office was one she'll never forget.

"It was exciting. My mom, my aunts, my sister, we were all there. It was a proud moment. I think it's maybe one of the most proud moments that she's had. It was a great accomplishment; it's become part of her identity; it's what she stands for; and I know that she really, really was proud of herself."

Within a year, though, things had gone awry. Astacio was facing complaints from other judges about her work ethic, she went through a divorce, and her cousin was brutally murdered.

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Judge Leticia Astacio responds to media after being released from jail about why she plead guilty. (Nov. 13, 2017)
Tina MacIntyre-Yee

She told the commission that the anniversary of his death and the prospect of her first Valentine's Day alone left her sad and prompted her to drink several glasses of wine on the evening of February 12, 2016. The next morning, she was arrested and charged with DWI after a state trooper found her disabled car on the side of Interstate 490.

State Police said Astacio was clearly drunk, with her eyes glassy and her speech slurred. She said in testimony that after the crash she took a short nap in her car, waiting for a friend to come get her.

Astacio was also often belligerent, police said, and, in fact, the Commission on Judicial Conduct determined this month that she tried to use her position to influence the decision whether to criminally charge her.

She maintained her innocence; in August 2016 a judge convicted her of misdemeanor drunken driving. Had the case ended there, Astacio may have retained her judgeship. Instead, she drank again even though ordered not to do so and she traveled to Thailand and missed the court-ordered tests.

This month, she was accused of trying to buy a shotgun, a felony because she was prohibited from doing so under her terms of probation. The commission decision to kick her off the bench did not even consider those latest legal charges against her.

Animus and support

This photo of what appears to be Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio in Thailand was posted on a public Instagram account, @godsgift68, a week ago.(Photo: .)

Astacio's journey from her difficult childhood to a legal career is the story that she told to prospective voters in 2014, and, perhaps, what endeared her to many of them.

As Astacio’s legal troubles escalated over the past two years, so did both the animus against her — sometimes motivated by the fact that she was still receiving her pay of more than $173,000 a year — and the support for her.

An online petition backing her drew hundreds of signatures, with some supporters maintaining that she was being unfairly caricatured in the media.

“I don’t know her,” said Karla Bisbee-McGill, one of those who signed the petition. “I don’t know if I even voted for her. But I have tears in my eyes when I think of what she’s gone through.”

Often, Bisbee-McGill said, she would read the responses to online news stories and be stunned by the hateful comments about Astacio.

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Judge Leticia Astacio talks to the media outside of her house after she was stripped of her judgeship. She said she doesn't agree with the decision and that she has a smart mouth but a good heart.
Max Schulte

“To me it became bigger than what it was because of all the coverage it had,” Bisbee-McGill said. “ … People would get offended because she would show up in court with a smile on her face. They wanted her to break. Why should they be privy to her pain?

“She’s a strong woman.”

Autumn DiDio, who knew Astacio from Astacio’s private legal practice, also continues to support her.

“I think she seems like a genuinely nice person, like a family person,” DiDio said. “I think you guys (in the media) are vilifying her.

“I don’t see why everyone is making such a big deal about her. A friend of mine’s father was killed by a drunk driver and he did not spend one night in jail.”

Unquestionably, some of the online attacks on Astacio have contained a racist strain. But it is difficult to find a racist foundation in the Commission on Judicial Conduct process that could cost her the judgeship.

Three of the 10 members of the Commission on Judicial Conduct are African-American. (One member is Brighton Town Justice John Falk.)

One of its African-American members, state Supreme Court Justice Leslie Leach of Queens, said during Astacio’s hearing that “I am very troubled by the judge’s credibility.”

In particular, Leach highlighted Astacio’s failure to abide by the terms of her release and questions of whether she even read the terms in their entirety, and also her decision to travel to Thailand while on court-ordered monitoring.

Before the commission vote this month, the commission's investigative staff found ample support to remove her from the bench — a decision affirmed by an impartial referee. The voting members of the commission are not bound to those recommendations.

Two years ago, for instance, the commission staff recommended that Rochester City Court Judge Maija Dixon, an African-American, be removed from the bench because she improperly used her judicial position when contacting a judge handling a personal injury lawsuit she had filed.

Two commission members voted for her removal, while eight decided that she should instead be censured — a less severe punishment that can bring more serious consequences should there be future misconduct.

The commission majority determined that Dixon’s actions were not driven by “a venal attempt to influence” the judge in the personal injury case. Dixon stayed on the bench and was later re-elected.

Unlike with Dixon, the commission did not find in Astacio's case a reason to disagree with the staff recommendation of removal. The vote to oust her from the bench was unanimous.

Astacio's legal troubles are far from over. She faces both probation violations and the felony criminal charge for the alleged attempt to buy a shotgun. Those charges ensure that she will continue to be in the news and the community debate will continue.

If she avoids a felony conviction, Astacio could return to private legal practice — possibly out of the public eye.

Irondequoit Supervisor Seeley said it has been difficult to watch what he described as a tragic unfolding of events with Astacio. He said he hopes she finds a way to recover, using the same spirit that elevated her to the judgeship in the first place.

"You want the best for all people, so you hope there is a path forward for her from this," he said.